


Minkan Denshō

by chronicAngel



Category: Naruto
Genre: Bedtime Stories, Blank Period, Drabble, Fluff, Gen, POV Third Person, Post-Fourth Shinobi War, The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-19
Updated: 2018-01-19
Packaged: 2019-03-06 23:26:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13421862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chronicAngel/pseuds/chronicAngel
Summary: "No, tō-san, you have to do the voices," Shinki cuts him off, giving him a pointed look with furrowed eyebrows.





	Minkan Denshō

They've developed a routine.

Since Shinki has learned to walk and speak, he'll come into the Kazekage's office at whatever time is decidedly bedtime (which still hasn't settled on a specific point in the evening) and announce that it's time to get ready for bed, and Gaara will put away the paperwork to give his son a bath and read him a story and sit with him until he finally dozes off. The first part, surprisingly, is easier than the second. Shinki's hair drips onto the shoulders of his pajamas as Gaara looks through the various books in their shared bedroom, from Kiri folktales that have been written on old scrolls to small stories Kankurō used to tell with his puppets that he's written down for his nephew.

"Hmm, Momotaro?" He glances over at Shinki, who makes a face and shakes his head. Moving on, he rests his thumb on a book of kaidan and shoots another look over his shoulder, eyebrow raised. "Okiku?"

Again, Shinki shakes his head, and continues to do so for all of his favorite tales. He does not want to hear the fable of the Tongue-Cut Sparrow, he does not want to hear the tale of the cat, the rat, and the Jade Emperor, and he does not want to hear about the Monkey and the Crab. After a long, frustrating minute, Shinki stands and marches to the bookshelf before pulling out _The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi._ "This one."

Relenting, Gaara takes the book and leads his three-year-old back to the bed, where he easily curls into his adoptive father's side. "The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi, as told by Jiraiya." As an author, he knows the name from the raunchy _Icha Icha Paradise_ series, which the Rokudaime Hokage frequently covets. As a person, he knows Jiraiya as Naruto's second sensei, and the legendary Toad Sage, one of the three sannin and the only one of which who did not make it to the Fourth Shinobi World War; a person who was ultimately willing to sacrifice everything he had to keep those he cared about safe.

"A noise slashed the silence. Naruto was barely able to hide behind the tree, as the kunai of the enemy pierced into the tree trunk. 'Won't you give--'"

"No, tō-san, you have to do the voices," Shinki cuts him off, giving him a pointed look with furrowed eyebrows.

"The voices?" He repeats, and Shinki nods vigorously. "Okay," he says, amused. Pitching his voice lower, he starts again, "'Won't you give up already?' shouted the ninja. 'I've had enough of this children's game!' Heavily breathing, Naruto rummaged in his bag and found in it a kunai and two smoke bombs. Without hesitating, he took one of the bombs  and threw it from a bush at the enemy ninja. The projectile exploded and the opponent was immediately covered in thick smoke. Naruto jumped out from behind the tree, holding his kunai firmly in his hand, and aimed at the enemy's silhouette. The sound of an impacting sword blade echoed through the forest."

He spends the next twenty minutes reading from the novel until Shinki finally falls asleep. Though he can plainly see from the date on the book that the novel is older than he or Naruto, the similarities between the main character and his friend beyond just their shared name are plain. For one, Naruto's determination and seeming lack of common sense when it comes to surrender, more precisely when one _should_ and when one _should not_ (Naruto seems to think that all circumstances fall under the second category), seemingly rings true in any universe or time period. Gaara bookmarks the page and brushes wet hair from Shinki's forehead before returning to his office, where he promptly smiles to find a timely correspondence from Naruto nestled on his desk where there was not one before.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy birthday to Gaara! Have some fluff.
> 
> * * *
> 
> Translation of _The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi_ found [here.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Naruto/comments/6cbnam/translation_the_tale_of_the_utterly_gutsy_ninja/)


End file.
